Within weeks, Ferguson had acted on the advice, with the eventual £12million transfer fee now being heralded as one of the shrewdest bits of business he has ever done.

After curbing the excessive use of tricks which were a hallmark of his early days at Old Trafford, Ronaldo has gone on to become one of the best players on the planet.

But, for all his stellar performances in a United shirt, he still likes to look back fondly on virtually his last appearance for Sporting.

"I have watched that game many times," he admitted.

"It was a spectacular match for a lot of reasons - it was our first game in the new stadium, there was a capacity crowd and it was against Manchester United, a team I have always dreamt about playing for.